Serbia’s Politika – Szijjarto: Strong, stable Serbia in Hungary’s interest

Belgrade (MTI) – Serbia has Hungary’s backing in joining the European Union as soon as possible and Hungary wants to see Serbia as a strong and stable country, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told the Serbian daily Politika.

Hungary’s construction of a fence on its border with Serbia was not meant as a move against the Serbian people, as relations between the two countries have never been as good as they are now, Szijjarto told the paper.

“We did not build the border fence for fun,” the minister said, adding that Hungary simply had to observe EU laws that call for the protection of the Schengen zone’s exterior borders.

When asked why Hungary supported Serbia and not Croatia, which is also an EU member state, in the disputes around the handling of migrants, Szijjarto said Croatia criticised Hungary in a manner that was “unacceptable” when it compared Hungary to former fascist dictatorships. The minister added that Croatia was also unfair to Serbia. “It is clear that if someone attacks Serbia, we will be there to defend it because we are friends and that is how friendships work,” Szijjarto said.